Maibock Online Tasting - April 8th

The color was a bit darker than I recall the Schell's being, but still a pale color, not a dark color. I only made brief notes since I was not reviewing it yet; my notes describe the color as "deep gold or deep amber". It was not sweet; my notes describe the mouthfeel as moderate toward thin (which to me means not thin, just to translate my notes...). Just flat, which as I noted was unexpected given the visible bubbles and tall head. Maybe it was me.

 

Hey @grantcty & @MNAle , About Schell's Maifest...

"In the tradition of Munich’s Hofbrauhaus Maibock beer, Schell’s Maifest is brewed with a blend of three different specialty malts and the finest imported and domestic hops. This full-bodied, blond dopple bock has a rich, assertive maltiness with a slight but unique sweetness balanced by a moderate hop bitterness and a citrusy hop aroma."

So... what is it? I was looking at my past review (2009) and saw that I commented on the Schell's web site description. I always remember this being closer to a Maibock than a Doppel, but what's with the contrasting description?

 

In year's past, the ABV has been 6.7-6.9%, based on the listings for this site (6.7%) and the 'other' site (6.9%). I see that Schell's site lists it at 6.2%, which is the lowest ABV I've ever seen reported for it in my time drinking it. In short, I don't know.

 

From the Schell's web site:

"MAIFEST

BEER STYLE: Maibock, a blonde dopple bock
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 6.2%
CHARACTERISTICS: Deep gold in color with an assertive sweetness balanced by a moderate hop bitterness."
​

It would appear Schell's considers the Maibock style to be a blonde dopple bock.
Summit's label says their Maibock is a "blonde bock."

Whatever, they will both be in my tastings tomorrow.

 

Sixer I got from Binny's has the same date code. The crowler from Pollyanna at least was packaged sooner and I got it on the release date, so I assume it was brewed more recently than January also. Still excited, maybe another trip for Lakefront. We'll see.

 

Just picked up a sixer of the Hofbrau in the Philly burbs with the same date as most of y'all. Got a single of old Dead Guy, too (old logo). We'll see how it holds up.

 

Exactly. But it is good.

 

I saw that and reported it to the Beer Meyvns. Nothing listed on the label.

 

Einbecker Mai Ur Bock is 6.5% ABV and their Doppelbock is 7.5% ABV. 6.2% ABV sounds like a weakish bock rather than a doppelbock to me.

I am going to try to track down some Einbecker. I used to drink a fair amount of that beer when I lived in Hamburg in the mid 1990s. I fondly remember the spring when I first saw the Mai Ur Bock on the shelves in my local supermarket.

May have to go to the brewery for a growler of Jack's Abby Maibock Hurts Like Helles (6.5% ABV), which is draft only this year.

 

Maibock can range between 6.3 and 7.4 ABV, I'm not going to ding a beer for .1%, especially since I just tried one and it falls right into that Maibock flavor range -- nice doughy breadiness with a good spicy hop balance in the finish. Just sayin'.

 

Funny, I picked up the same two!

 

What's incredibly funny about this Is I'm going with the Einbecker Ainpockish Bier (cloudy heller urbock) for the tasting. I've been holding it for 3 weeks now for the occasion. Will tag you then. Cheers.

 

Well I don't think that I'm going to be able to post tomorrow while I'm at the Renaissance Faire. So I'll just leave this here.

Saint Arnold - Spring Bock
https://www.saintarnold.com/seasonal-beers/



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This was so far the only maibock that I could find at the stores near me by now. I expect some others to be available later April-May, but I'm not sure what will come around this year to us.

The Spring Bock is copper colored and clear with a medium dense head that shrunk fairly quickly even though it stuck around through the glass.



Aroma first struck me as bready. Had a pretty good malt nose but the breadiness stuck around.

Flavor gets a little more complex. It's still bready but a little toffee sweetness joins from the malt. The toffee brings with it a very slight floral backup. But there's a small amount of a metallic flavor that makes its way in... Causing some disappointment.

Mouthfeel was good to me. Definitely medium to full bodied. A little bit of sweetness to stick around but still easy drinking.

This gets me ready for the season. Hopefully other maibocks will follow. (I know my homebrew will be kegged but I'm hoping for at least Feldschlösschen and Rahr)

 

Mahr's Bock-Bier, Mahr's Bräu, Bamberg, Germany.


4.16/5 (rDev +9.8%)
Review here.

Prosit!

 

Morning. There are two reviews for this beer so far on BA so let's nitpick it. This is the second star wars pun beer today. @cjgiant =)



My first impression was the color is too light but it is a 6. Hazy yellow amber. Fast flaling head that fizzes and pops and leaves nothing behind.


Malty scent with a hint of toastiness and low melanoidins . Herbal hop on a sweet flower petal. It smells a touch tart and that's fruity. That's a fruity ester from yeast I think.

Drinks a touch tart or so it seems but dry . A brisk cool hop. Small bubbles but with plenty of bite. Finishes malty but fizzy with hops showing a clean herbal that suggests lemon. It's also tart and peppery. The bitterness is even and moderate. The bubble is too much it's too crisp. The malt doesn't roll out to show you that toastiness but it does show up in the aftertaste. The flavor is lost in the finish to the bubble and it's bite. That highlights the fruity ester from yeast which was low imo. It's green apple. Bitterness is balanced and the beer is enjoyable if not to style. It's the mouthfeel that did it. The appearance is also not to style because of the fast falling head which maybe is showing the acidity or the tartness I think I taste? IS the color too light? It's hazy and the head had no persistence. The hop is very peppery. It finishes too hoppy for ht style because of that carbonation as well.

One of the things we have noticed form @JackHorzempa 's brewing of the original Michelob lager as well as Guinness who brewed am American prohibition era lager is the prominence of the yeast or some green apple.

The reason it's not a miabock is because it is tart. Literally tart. It's over carbonated, fizzy and moderately hoppy. Even that carbonation is something we have seen carried through to our modern day AAL or American light lagers.

Cheers BA and Rock Out With Your Bock Out!

 

It could be my luck, but I have not had the best quality control experiences with Empire.

 

Summit Maibock-



Appearance- deep golden, clear, 3 finger head after staggered aggressive pour, receded to about 1 finger. Head is soft and pillowy

Aroma- starts sweet and breadth, blended with sharp floral hops. Hard to tell where one ends and the other begins

Taste- follows the nose, very full and rich sweet breadiness to start blending seamlessly into floral hops w/moderate bitterness. Slight lingering bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel- medium body, super creamy texture that coats the mouth.

Overall- excellent beer. I will definitely get this one again.

546 characters

 

The only Mai Bock I could acquire was this one, which I have never had the chance to drink at a Hofbrau Haus before.




It is a clear, deep gold color and produced a substantial frothy head that had great retention. The second pic is about 5 minutes in. The aroma reminds me of a Lowenbrau. Fairly skunky, like a lot of Euro lagers. As it warms up I can notice toasted bread crust and a floral note. It has decent amount of peppery flavor up front with some flowery and grassy hops. There is a hint of orange-lemon citrus too. Just when you think it is going to be more hop forward like a pilsner, a sweetness balances it out. A caramel and honey flavor with sourdough bread. It has a lingering toast like flavor with a surprising amount of bitterness.

It is pretty full bodied, and I feel like it is probably on the very upper end of Maibocks/Helles in that regard. This is very nicely balanced, easy drinking, and excellent in my opinion.

 

From the basement, this offering has aged beautifully.
The base is still solid, sweet notes of toffee, big raisin notes, fig.
some hint of alcohol, burnt butter and little carbonation. This would be
as far back as I would reach for this stunner. Not convinced more time would add
any value. If you see it get it!
Cheers all